Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2020
Floor Speech
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Mr. SMITH of Missouri. Mr. Chair, today I rise in support of my amendment which would demonstrate the environmental benefits of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Trade Agreement, as well as show the cost of delaying passage of this agreement.
USMCA is groundbreaking in more ways than one. It will create thousands of U.S. jobs, improve our economy, increase U.S. agriculture exports, and reduce our trade deficits with Mexico.
Thanks to President Trump, this trade agreement is also a great achievement for the environment. USMCA brings all environmental provisions into the core of the agreement, which means that they can be fully enforced.
The agreement contains the first-of-its-kind language on improving air quality as well as appropriate procedures for environmental impact assessments.
The agreement takes a commonsense approach by creating a partnership between the U.S. and two of its most important trade allies toward a unified goal of improving the environment.
Importantly, the agreement also maintains each country's sovereignty over their own laws. This will create more environmental benefits than anything offered by my friends across the aisle who, so far, have only come up with eradicating U.S. agriculture, eliminating cows, and eliminating air travel.
My amendment would direct the EPA to use these funds to produce reports that would demonstrate the environmental improvements that we are not benefiting from every day this agreement is not in effect. This way, the American people can see firsthand what the cost of delay truly is.
Just yesterday, Mexico voted overwhelmingly to ratify this agreement. Canada is moving forward as well. It is time for Democrats to decide what is worse for them: giving President Trump a win or allowing the U.S. to remain in an outdated trade agreement that is not up to the standards we hold today.
USMCA is a great agreement for the American people, and it is time to vote. I urge a ``yes'' vote on my amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.
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